Haryana bans beef; no murder charges

CHANDIGARH: The BJP government in Haryana has imposed a total ban on the sale of beef in any form and proposed 10 years rigorous imprisonment for cow slaughter, but ruled out equating it with murder.

“The ban also covers canned beef which was legal during the tenure of the previous government,” a release quoting animal husbandry minister OP Dhankar said.

The move comes days after Maharashtra, another BJPruled state, banned beef and imposed a five-year jail term for cow slaughter. “The news... that a case would be registered under section 302 (murder) of IPC was wrong,” Dhankar clarified.